Preparation

• Preheat oven to 375F. Spray a muffin pan very well with floured cooking spray or grease and flour the pan; set aside.
• To a medium bowl, add the sugar, flour, and using two forks or a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until you have coarse crumbs; set aside.
• To a separate medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and beat with a handheld electric mixer until smooth, or whisk by hand until smooth; set aside.
• To a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and whisk to combine; set aside.
• To a separate medium bowl, add the egg, oil, buttermilk, cocoa powder, red food coloring, and whisk to combine.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir just until moistened. Batter is thick and some lumps will remain, don’t overmix.
• Fold the cream cheese mixture into the muffin batter, being careful not to overmix. Some streaks of cream cheese should remain.
• Turn batter out into prepared pan, filling each cavity about two-thirds full.
• Evenly sprinkle each muffin with the crumb topping.
• Bake for about 17 to 19 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs but no batter.
• Allow muffins to cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.